Separator



J. P. MAHONEY ET AL Dec. 15, 1936.

SEPARATOR Filed June 21, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENToRa. John Mah ,le/and T on Oney ATTORNEY Dec. l5, 1936. I J, P, MAHONEY ET AL 2,064,554

S EPARATOR Filed June 2l, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1N V EN TORS. John Mahoney BY e/and f. on

ATTORNEY Dec. 15,1936. J. P, MAHONEY ET Al. 2,064,554-

` SEPARATOR Filed'Jne 21, 1935 4 sheets-sheet 3 @QMM Dec. 15, 1936. J. P. MAHONEY ET AL 2,064,554

SEPARATOR Filed June 21, 1953 4 sheets-sheet 4 John Mahoney ,4e/and E. ong

' a coarse inclined trommel screen 26.

gate and discharge it at chute 30.

Patented Dec. 15, 1936 sEPARAToR John P. Mahoneyand Leland E. Long, South Bend, Ind., assignors to Bendix Aviation Corporation, South Bend, Ind., a corporation of Delaware Application June 21, 1933, Serial No. 676,980

4 Claims.

This invention relates to separators for ore and the like, and more particularly to a machine for separating values from finely divided ores.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive mechanism for the separation of finely divided solids.

A further object of the invention is to provide a portable mechanism requiring a minimum of power and yet eicient in its operation.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the appended drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side elevation of a machine embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is an end View of the same'as seen from the right of Figure l, but with parts broken away to disclose the remaining mechanism more clearly;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional View of the rotary concentrating member;

Figure 4 is a front view of the same;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section through a modified form of rotary concentrating member;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view showing a modified form. of baffle; and

Figure 7 is a similar View of another modied form-of baille.

The machine illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 comprises generally a base I 0, a separator I2, a concentrator I4, a power unit I6, which may be an internal combustion engine, a waterpump I8, and a housing 20 enclosing the other elements as shown.

The separator I2 comprises a hopper 22 into which the ore is delivered by any suitable means (not shown). A series of nozzles 24 deliver streams of vwater upon the ore in the hopper, which assist in moving the ore downwardly into Here the coarser' rocks are rejected by the screen and passed to a trough 28 and thence to a discharge chute 30, which leads to an inclined endless conveyor 32 of any suitable type, preferably supported by a brace 33. Screen 26 is 'surrounded by successively ner mesh trommel screens 34 and 36, designed to eliminate the coarser aggre- A pipe 31 extends into screen 34 and is provided with spaced jets which discharge water onto the aggregate during the screening operation. Each screen is provided at its discharge end With an annular trough 28, designed to retain the aggreand suitable construction.

gate of relatively high specific gravity, such as nuggets. v v

The screens 26, 34, and 36 are mounted within a cylindrical drum 38, which is inclined.l similarly to the screens and which receives the ne 5 aggregate, water and silt passed by screen 36. Drum 38 is rotatably carried by grooved rollers 46 which engage hoops 42 extending circumferentially around the drum. One or more of the rollers are driven by a shaft 44 which takes 10 its powerv through a chain 46 from the power plant I6.

Drum 38 discharges into a chute 48 which leads through a pipe 50 to the concentrator I4, now to be described. The concentrator com- 15 prises a conical member 52 having an exterior hoop 54 which engages three idling rollers-56 which support it in rotatable relation. Rollers 56 are carried by a polygonal frame 58 which, by means of brackets 59, is pivotally mounted 20 on a shaft 66 journaled in trunnions 62. Shaft 60 is driven from the power plant I6 through the medium of a reduction gear 64 of any known It carries a bevel gear 66 which engages a ring gear 68 fixed to 25 a bracket 69 which is in turn fixed to or formed integral with the conical member 52, and thus rotates member 52 when the machine is in operation. In order to adjust the inclination of the axi's of member 52, a link 'Illvis pivoted to the 30 lower portion of frame 58 and has formed therein a longitudinal bore threaded to receive a correspondingly threaded shaft 12 which is journaled in a bracket 14 and provided ati its outer end with a handwheel 16. 35

The interior of member 52 is provided on its conical surfacewith ridges or lands 18 dening intervening grooves for the reception of the ne aggregate. The lands 18 extend generally perpendicular to the inner surface of 52 and are 40 tapered as shown. The height of the lands gradually decreases from the base of the cone toward the apex. Preferably, there are a. plurality of leads or parallel lands (six in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3) extending from the base 45 toward the apex of the cone in parallel'relatlon and terminating in a discharge mouth provided with a flaring ange 82. A member 84, of generally conical shape, is secured to the base of member 52 and forms therewith a reservoir 86 50 for the reception of ore .and water from pipe 50. Member 84 is provided with a flared outlet flange 88, as shown, for the discharge of aggregate from the concentrator I4.

Additional water at constant head is supplied 55 ing the amount of tailings and decreasing the to the aggregate during its passage through the concentrator AI4 by the mechanism now to be described. Pump 'I8 has a'discharge pipe 90 leading to pipe 31. A branch pipe 92 leads upwardly from pipe 90 and communicates at i-ts upper end with nozzles 24. At its lower end, pipe 92 is provided withl a nozzle 94 which is controlled by a valve 96 and discharges into a reservoir 98 having an overflow pipe |00. When valve 96 is properly adjusted, the water in reservoir 98 is maintained at or near the level of overflow pipe |00. From reservoir 98 a feed pipe |02 leads to the interior of concentrator I4, where it has a horizontally extending portion |04 provided with a series of jets |06 which may be aligned with the grooves 80 in such manner that, in a given position, each groove receives the discharge from one jet. Jets |06 are preferably of decreasing capacity toward the 'discharge mouth 82, and may, if desired, be provided with individual adjusting valves to control the discharge of each jet separately. The pipe |02 is preferably supported by a brace |05 and is provided with a flexible section |03, to permit movement of the portion |04 in the adjustment of the machine.

A hopper |08 is provided to receive the values from mouth 82, and leads through' a vertical chute ||0 to a receptacle of any suitable construction (not shown). The discharge pipe is provided with a telescoping discharge spout ||2, having an exterior flange ||3 provided with a slot to receive a transverse rod |I4.. The rod I4 is carried by spaced arms I I 5 which are fixed to brackets 59, so that when the axis of member 52 is` adjusted by handwheel 16 the spout |2 will ride up or down on pipe 50 and thus maintain the lower end of the spout at a fixed distance from the bottom `of reservoir 86. A paddle I|6 is also carried by rod I|4 and projects into reservoir 8 6 in such position as to agitate or plow up the aggregate therein as the separator is rotated.

In operation, the ore, consisting of mixed aggregate, is fed into hopper 22 by any suitable means, and is thence fed by gravity, assisted by the washing actionof the water from nozzles 24, to the separator I2. Here the aggregate is sep-` arated into (1) ne aggregate, passed by screen 36, (2) coarse aggregate, rejected by any of screens 26, 34, or 36 and not retained by troughs 28, and (3) coarse aggregate retained by troughs 28. The coarse aggregate is delivered to conveyor 32 as tailings, and the material retained by troughs 28 is manually removed and inspected for values.

'Ihe fine aggregate, mixed with a considerable amount lof water from nozzles 24 and pipe 3l,

. then passes through chute 48 to the concentrator 4. The speed and inclination of the concentrator have been adjusted to give the desired yseparation for the particular ore being processed, higher speed tending toward more rapid but less selective separation, and inclination of the separator axis downwardly (in the clockwise direction -as viewed in Figure 3) tending toward increasvolume'of values separated out at the mouth 82.

VThe ne aggregate is taken up by the various grooves and progressively moved toward the mouth 82, since it is retained by gravity at the.

bottoms of the grooves. During its progression upward, however, it is continuously agitated and tumbled by the rotation of the member 52 and is washed by the water discharged by the jets |06, so that the heavier particles, containing the hereinafter noted. The conical member |20 has.

.a more gradual taper than member 52, although the lands and grooves thereof may be similar to those of member 52. Two hoops |22 are provided at opposite ends of the member |20, and are adapted to engage the rollers of a driving and adjusting mechanism similar to that above described. An air nozzle |24 projects into the discharge mouth |26 ofthe member |20 and is supplied with compressed air from a suitable source (not shown). Nozzle |24 discharges a blast of air over the tops of the lands, which carries with it the lighter particles of aggregate, discharging the same through the open end |28 of the conical member, leaving the heavier metal bearing particles to be discharged at mouth |26. The aplparatus is therefore adapted for use as a dry concentrator, although it may be used in wet concentration as well, if desired. l

The members 52 and |20 may be formed of cast iron or steel, the lands vbeing formed integral therewith and shaped by a turning operation. In Figures 6 and 7, however, are shown `alternative ways of forming the lands. 'The lands |30 of Figure 6 are formed of hard rubber, synthetic resin or resilient non-metallic material, preferably molded in strips and inserted in a shell |32 of conical form. In the embodiment shown in Figure 7, the lands |34 are formed of strips of rolled metal of L-shaped cross section, which may be exible enough to permit them to be bent as they are inserted in the conical shell |36. Flat strips |38 are secured at the ends of the shell |36 in such relation as to hold the strips |34 in position.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference to certain specific embodiments thereof, it is capable of many variations, and is not intended to be limited except in accordance with the terms of the following claims.

We claim:

k1. An ore separator comprising a substantially horizontal axis, rotary hollow conical member having steeply sloping sides makingan angle with the axis over forty-five degrees and continuous spiral grooves on its inner surface to receive ore, said spiral grooves being formed by a separately formed hard rubber rib member extending spirally around the interior of said conical member, a member fixed to the conical member and including a radial inwardly-extending flange cooperating with the peripherai portion of the member to form a reservoir, and means for rotating the conical member about its axis, said flange and member operating to form an annular reservoir during rotation of the member about a horizontal axis.

2. An ore separator comprising a substantially horizontal axis, rotary hollow conical member having steeply sloping sides making an angle with the axis over forty-five degrees and continuous spiral grooves on its inner surface to receive ore, a member fixed to the conical member and including a radial inwardly-extending flange cooperating with the peripheral portion of the member to form a reservoir, means for rotating the conical member about its axis, said ange and member operating to form an annular reservoir during rotation of thc member about a horizontal axis, and means for tilting said axis slightly from the horizontal to vary the operation o f the separator.

3. An ore separator comprising a substantially horizontal axis, rotary hollow conical member having steeply sloping sides making an angle with the axis over forty-live degrees and continuous spiral grooves on its inner surface to receive ore, a member xed to the conical member and including a radial inwardly-extending flange cooperating with the peripheral portion of the member to form a reservoir, means for rotating the conical memberA about its axis, said ange and member operating to form an annular reservoir during rotation of the memberabout a horizontal axis, and means associated with said conical member for supplying water thereto at a constant head.

4. An ore separator comprising a substantially horizontal axis, rotary hollow corneal member having steeply sloping sides 'making an angle, with the axis over forty-five degrees and continuous spiral grooves on its inner surface to receive ore, a member xed to the conical member and including a radial inwardly-extending flange cooperating with the peripheral portion of the member to form a reservoir, and means for rotating the conical member about its axis, said flange and members operating to form an annular reservoir during rotation of the member about a horizontal axis.

JOHN P. MAI-IONEY. LELAND E. LONG. 

